grammy's rolls

 this is grammy's recipe for perfect rolls. thanks, grammy!

ingredients

5-5 1/2 C all purpose or bread flour

2/3 C nonfat dry milk

1/3 C sugar

2 T yeast

2 t salt

2 C warm water

1/2 C melted butter

2 eggs, gently beaten

a little extra melted butter

directions

in the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment combine 2 C of flour, milk, sugar, yeast, salt, water, eggs and melted butter. mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. add 2 cups of flour and mix until dough pulls away from sides. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size (about 30 minutes).

sprinkle a work space with flour. uncover dough and knead until slightly sticky. dust your hands with flour. roll dough until dough is about a quarter of an inch or a half an inch. use a basting brush to spread melted butter on one side of the dough. wrap the dough around your finger with the butter on the inside. place parchment paper on a baking sheet and place rolls on top. let rolls rise until about doubled in size. preheat oven to 375. bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. let cool before serving.

hearty soup-dipping bread

i liked this recipe because it was sturdy enough to dip in soup, but soft enough to still use for the kids' sandwiches the next day for lunch.  and it's super hearty.  nice and soft with a little bit of crunch.  found it at eatingwell.com.

ingredients

• 2 packages active dry yeast, (2 tablespoons)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 2-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour, divided
• 3/4 cup rolled oats, (not instant)
• 3/4 cup bulgur
• 3/4 cup wheat bran
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds, ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

 

directions

 

1. Stir yeast and honey into lukewarm water in a large bowl. Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour, oats, bulgur and bran. Beat for 100 strokes. Cover with plastic and let rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft-free place. 2 Stir in ground sunflower seeds, salt, remaining 1 cup whole-wheat flour and enough of the remaining all-purpose flour to make a firm, soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding additional all-purpose flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking.
2. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down, cover and let rise again for until doubled, about 1 hour. (Alternatively, refrigerate the dough, let it rise overnight, then allow it to return to room temperature.)
3. Divide dough in half and shape each portion into an oval loaf, about 8 inches long. Places loaves at least 3 inches apart on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush the tops of the loaves lightly with water. With a serrated knife, make 3 diagonal slashes about 1/4 inch deep across the tops. Bake the loaves until tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 25 to 35 minutes.

cornbread

fits in an 8 x 8, double for a 9 x 13.  30 min @ 350.

ingredients

1 C corn meal
1 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/4 C milk
1/3 oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

multigrain bread

i had been looking for a good multigrain bread recipe and decided to look up ourbestbites.com because so many of my friends rave about the recipes there.  this recipe didn't disappoint.  i feel like all good bread has a few tricks, so go to the website here before you make it the first time.  the first time i made this recipe it seemed like there were a few extra steps and that it was complicated, but after making it a second time, i feel like it's a recipe i could get used to and actually make several times a month.  the basic recipe is below.

ingredients

1 1/4 cup (6 1/4 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
1 1/2 cups (8 1/4 oz) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
Optional (I omitted): 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

*If you’re using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.

directions

Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour.  Whisk flours together in separate bowl.

Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter, and yeast and mix on low speed until combined.  Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until cohesive mass starts to form (*note: some at high altitudes have noted they have not needed all of the flour, go by look and feel and stop adding flour if you need to!) 1 1/2-2 minutes; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes.  Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does.  Don’t add more!) continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes.  Add seeds (if using) and knead for another 15 seconds.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, round ball.  Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half.  Press 1 piece of dough into 9×6 inch rectangle, with short side facing you.  Roll dough toward you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.  Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed.  Repeat with second piece of dough.  Spray loaves lightly with water or vegetable oil spray.  Roll each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared pans, pressing gently into corners.  Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size 30-40 minutes.  Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake until loaves register 200 degrees, 35-40 minutes.  Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.  Remove loaves from pans, return to rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before slicing and serving.

health nut blueberry muffins

a fun way to use some of the blueberries we picked this summer and a perfect after school snack. i got it from allrecipes.com. i didn't have oat bran so i substituted wheat bran and i didn't have a banana so i substituted about 1/3 C applesauce. they took 20 minutes in my oven.

ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

zucchini bread

my aunt gave us a couple of her huge zucchinis from her garden so i thought i'd try some zucchini bread for the first time. i found a healthy option that touts itself as the "best zucchini bread ever." i don't really know because i think i've had zucchini bread one other time in my life, but this was definitely good enough to eat. although, i doubt one can ever go wrong with throwing extra dark chocolate in anything (i used 72% cacao).

i found it here.

Dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (or all-purpose)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground cinnamon (or 1 Tablespoon pre-ground)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup canola oil (or peanut)
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a splash of vinegar)
• 1 cup organic Turbinado sugar (or brown sugar, firmly packed)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups finely grated zucchini
• 4 oz dark chocolate, chunked

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a 9×4 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Line a 6-cup muffin tin with papers OR oil a mini loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, sift together dry ingredients and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy; beat in eggs, yogurt, buttermilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Combine well. Stir in grated zucchini and chopped chocolate.
4. Fold flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Spoon batter into 6 muffin cups (or mini loaf pan) and pour the rest into the 9×4 loaf pan. Bake for approximately 50 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in the pan. Loosen the sides and remove from pan. Cool loaf completely before cutting.

million dollar muffins revised

the original version of these muffins are great. i just experimented with them to see if i could create a just-as-tasty but slightly more healthy and lower calorie version. i was pleased with the result.

ingredients

1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T flaxseed meal, plus 3 T water
1/4 C oil
1/4 C applesauce
1/2 C undrained crushed pineapple
1/2 C raisins
2 C shredded carrots

directions

combine dry ingredients in one bowl; egg, flaxseed mixture, oil and applesauce in another bowl; and remaining ingredients in another bowl. add the wet to the dry then the rest. bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. and it's infinitely better if you use muffin cups.

bread machine pumpernickel bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/8 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 tablespoon caraway seed (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup rye flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten (optional)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

bagels from scratch

bagels are one of those things i've shied away from making because i've always assumed they were just too hard or too time consuming to be worth it. i wish i would have tried them sooner! they are super easy to make and not any more time consuming than bread or rolls. they may not be perfectly symmetrical, but they are tasty. i stop buying bagels today.

i used the ingredients from allrecipes.com and the instructions for preparing and baking from cdkitchen.com

ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

*for whole wheat bagels, substitute some of the flour for 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup of oats and then you can substitute honey for the sugar.

optional toppings

Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Minced fresh garlic
Minced fresh onion
Caraway seeds
Coarse salt

directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into 8 balls. Roll into 6in logs, bring together and pinch. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Drop bagels, one at a time, into boiling water. When bagels float to the surface (about 30 seconds), remove with a slotted spoon and place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets generously sprinkled with cornmeal.

Bake bagels plain or sprinkle with a topping of your choice. Place in the hot oven, immediately reduce heat to 425 degrees F, and bake about 17 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

whole wheat pear bread

i just tried this out of the blue and it was yummy, thus i am putting it on the site. i added a little more shortening than it called for because it wasn't creaming properly and then i added a couple handfuls of craisins and used pecans instead of walnuts. (who needs walnuts, anyway?) i got it from cooks.com.

2-3 fresh Bartlett pears
2 tbsp. shortening
2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 c. water
1 egg, beaten
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 c. chopped walnuts

Core pears, but do not peel. Cut slices from one and reserve to decorate top. Dice remaining pears to measure 1 cup. In mixing bowl cream shortening and brown sugar. Add honey, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, water and beaten egg. Mix well.

Sift dry ingredients together and add to liquid mixture. Stir just to moisten dry ingredients. fold in nuts and diced pears. Turn into greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Arrange reserved pear slices on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until bread tests done. Let stand in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and store overnight before slicing. Makes 1 loaf.

flawless french bread

so, i've made neither french bread, nor sourdough, but i tried my hand at both today. while the bread tasted in no way sour, it produced some rather flawless french bread. i'll keep trying on the sour part...

i found the recipe at cooking.com.

Active Time: 25 Minutes Total Time: 109 Hours 50 Minutes Yield: Makes 2 loaves (15 servings each) Sourdough gets its tangy flavor from a slightly fermented starter. It's the namesake ingredient in the famous bread from San Francisco and can also be used in pancakes, muffins, and other yeast breads. To prepare the starter, you'll need to begin 5-10 days in advance of baking. RECIPE INGREDIENTS For the Sourdough Starter: 1 package active dry yeast 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105-115 degrees F) 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar or honey For the Bread: 1 cup sourdough starter, above 5 1/2-6 cups all-purpose flour 2 packages active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 cups warm water (120-130 degrees F) Cornmeal 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon water
DIRECTIONS FOR THE SOURDOUGH STARTER: In a large mixing bowl soften yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water. Stir in the remaining water, flour, and sugar or honey. Stir till smooth. Cover the bowl with 100 percent cotton cheesecloth. Let stand at room temperature (75-85 degrees) for 5-10 days, stirring 2-3 times each day, or till the mixture has a sour, fermented aroma. (Fermentation time depends upon the room temperature. A warmer room hastens fermentation.) When fermented, transfer sourdough starter to a 1-quart jar or plastic container. Loosely cover and refrigerate. If starter isn’t used within 10 days, stir in 1 teaspoon sugar or honey. Repeat every 10 days till used (the starter can be kept indefinitely). To use starter, bring desired amount to room temperature. For every cup used, stir 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon sugar or honey into the remaining amount. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 1 day, or till bubbly. Then refrigerate for later use. FOR THE BREAD: Bring 1 cup sourdough starter to room temperature (about 1 hour). In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt. Add the 1 1/2 cups warm water and the sourdough starter. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour). Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll each half of dough into a 15x10-inch rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends. Place, seam-side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double (35-45 minutes). Place an ovenproof ceramic or heavy-duty glass baking dish filled with 1 inch of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Let the water steam the oven while the bread rises. Combine egg yolk and water. Brush dough with egg wash. With a very sharp knife or single-edge razor blade, make 4-5 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Place baking sheet with bread on rack above pan of water. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees; bake for 30-35 minutes, or till bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. (If necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.) Remove bread from baking sheet; cool on a rack.
Recipe reprinted by permission of Weldon Owen. All rights reserved.

best bread sticks

a while back, a few (or maybe a lot) of us would get together once a week and have dinner together. we would rotate houses/hosts so we got to eat a variety of really good food. i always hoped this family would make these bread sticks because they are my favorite. i was so happy they were willing to share their recipe. thanks, angie!

mix 1 1/2 C warm water, 1 T yeast and 1 T sugar and let it bubble up good.

add 4ish C flour, 1/3 C sugar and 1 t salt and knead till you've got good dough* and let rise 20ish minutes. (the more you let them rise, the fluffier they'll be.)

you can shape 'em however you want. i always roll the dough out and cut them into strips. then i put some butter/margarine and garlic salt on them. i'm sure parmesan cheese and whatever other yumminess you can conjure up would be delightful as well. it's up to you and your fluffiness preference if you want to let them rise after this step or not.

bake on 400 til golden, about 10 minutes.

*i've finally figured out that around here, you have to put less flour in than you think for bread or it will be dry and gross. so if it's a little bit sticky, that will be perfect and you can just use extra flour when you roll out and/or shape.

Potato Flakes Recipe 1: cinnamon rolls

I decided to take a page out of Jamie's book and let you all know which new recipes I am trying solely for the sake of using potato flakes. This recipe turned out amazing well. Like AMAZINGLY well. Yes, I would even put them on par with Geraldine's cinnamon rolls.

Some differences between the two recipes:

1. This recipe is not quite as sweet. Personally, I liked this better because I didn't feel overloaded with sugar
2. The flavor is different than Geraldine's...but not in a bad way. I liked it just as much if not better but in a different way.

I used raisins this time and I've never used raisins in Geraldine's recipe...so maybe that changed some flavor action for me too. Also, I substituted unsalted butter for the shortening. Other than that...I followed the recipe exactly!

Source: Southern Living Magazine; November, 1999

FOR THE ROLLS:
1/2 cup potato flakes
1 cup water
2 envelopes dry yeast
2 cups warm water
9 1/2 to 10 cups flour
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening, melted
1 Tbsp. salt
FOR THE FILLING:
1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
4 tsp. cinammon
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Glaze (powdered sugar mixed with a small amount of milk or water)

Stir together potato flakes and one cup water; microwave (high) three minutes, stir.

Combine yeast and two cups warm water; let stand five minutes.

Combine the mashed potato mixture, four cups flour, eggs, sugar, shortening, and salt in very large bowl. Stir in yeast mixture until blended. Gradually stir in remaining 5 1/2 to 6 cups flour until soft dough forms. Cover and let rise in warm place one hour or until doubled.

Divide dough in half. Roll each portion into an 18x15-inch rectangle Spread each with half of butter. Sprinkle each rectangle with 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup pecans and, if desired, raisins.

Roll up, starting at long end. Cut each roll into 12 slices (for huge rolls). Put into two 13x9-inch pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool.

Drizzle with glaze.

Note:
Unbaked rolls may be frozen. Thaw 8 hours in fridge before baking.

(I froze 6 of my rolls .... I thawed out one of the rolls on the pan I was going to bake it on, and let it thaw out on the counter overnight and in the morning it was doubled in size---it turned out great)

***Instead of rolling it out on flour, I spread a little melted butter on the counter and rubbed it around with my hands. Then I rubbed it on the rolling pin and all over my hands. The dough didn't stick to ANYTHING and it was great. :-) ***

Irish Soda Bread

I made this last night as an experiment and it turned out wonderful! Totally yummy. I'm going to make it again for Easter. I took the recipe from here and slightly changed a few things, like adding the wheat flour and decreasing the sugar (actually, when I made it I omitted the sugar entirely and it still turned out great but probably not as sweet as the original recipe).

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
  
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 pat of butter, melted
• 1 Tablespoon buttermilk

Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and butter. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a *lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on a greased baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with a tablespoon of buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. ^Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. While baking, continue to brush with the butter/buttermilk mixture for a great crust.

*The loaf may seem dry when you mix it together and knead it, but brushing it with that initial application of milk and butter really is enough moisture for the bread.

^I cut an 'X' across the entire top of the loaf and when it baked the X expanded exponentially...so next time I'm going to cut the X in the center of the top, making sure it doesn't go all the way to the edges.